Take It To The Grave
by danfic
Summary: (A danisnotonfire fanfic. NOT PHAN). There are some secrets that you must take to your grave. (NOTE: I WILL be writing a sequel so keep your eyes peeled for it!)
1. this is going to be easy

'Look to your left' said the voice in my ear.

I stop, twiddle my ear piece and look to the left.

'Look for a tall man sitting down, with dark brown hair wearing a black coat and grey jeans'. I spot him and examine him closely. He doesn't look too difficult.

'Now, walk over to him and ask if the seat next to him if spare' the voice instructs me.

I walk over, my head held high, my hair covering my ears, and most importantly, my ear piece.

'Excuse me' I say, smiling at the man. 'Is this seat taken?'

The man shakes his head, returning the smile.

'Do you mind if I sit here?' I ask him.

'Go ahead' he replies.

I drop my bag on the floor and sit down in the wooden chair.

'Ask him his name' I hear through my ear piece.

'So, what's your name?' I ask the man. He looks up and smiles at me again.

'Dan Howell' he says. 'Yours?'

'Hannah Riley' I say, my leg twitching with anticipation.

'Well Hannah, it's nice to meet you' he says smoothly, shaking my hand.

'You too' I reply confidently. He runs his eyes over my face and body, obviously trying to guess what I did for a living.

'Lunch break from work?' he asks.

'Something like that'.

'So, what do you do for a living?'

'I work in a Solicitor's office' I lie. I'm a good liar; it kinda comes with the job. If you're not good, then you're screwed. 'How about you?'

'I make YouTube videos for a living?' he says, his eyes bright. He clearly loves his job. 'Well, if I ever need help with any legal issues, then I know where to come' he winks at me.

'And if I ever need help with any YouTube related issues, then I also know where to go' I quip back, grinning.

'Ask him where he lives' the voice in my ear startles me.

'So, where do you live? I haven't seen you around here before'.

'I live in South Kensington' he replies. 'Well, being an internet person, I don't tend to get out much' he laughs and I laugh too. It's going well. This is going to be an easy job.

'Well, when you do decide you want to see daylight then you'd be welcome to join me' I say.

'I may have to take you up on that' he smiles lazily. 'Can I get you a drink?'

I shake my head, indicating a no.

'Well, can I get your number instead of a Latte?'

'Perhaps' I say, grabbing a napkin and writing down my phone number. 'Do I get yours in return?'

'Very good' the voice in my ear says, loud enough so I can hear it but quiet enough so that no one else can.

'Of course you can' he replies, also writing his down. We swap the napkins over and I put mine into my handbag while he puts his into his jeans pocket.

'Leave now' I hear the voice say and I obey, standing up.

'Well, it was nice to meet you Dan' I say. 'I'll see you around?'

'Yep. Soon I hope?'

'Whenever you're ready. I'm a free agent'. Not quite. 'Bye!' I'm halfway down the coffee shop before he replies.

'Bye Hannah!' he calls out.

I smile to myself. This will be too easy.


	2. I'm trained to kill

I exit the coffee shop and turn right, walking through the throng of people, occasionally shoving someone out of the way. I look like a typical office worker, dressed in a black pencil skirt, white blouse and black stilettos. That's the point; to blend it; to look ordinary. So no one will suspect anything.

I rifle through my handbag, looking for my phone. I feel the paper napkin, with Dan's number written on it. I smile wryly to myself. Poor guy doesn't know what he's in for. I grab my iPhone and ring the HQ.

'I'm on my way' I say to the Boss.

'Ok. Good work back there Ms Riley. He didn't suspect a thing' the Boss chuckles.

'I know, poor guy' I laugh along. 'See you in a few minutes' and I end the call, sliding my phone back into the leather bag.

I carry on until I reach a side alleyway and I turn into it. No one's looking as I do. Halfway down, there's a metal door on the right with a keypad. I type in the code and the door swings open. I stride through the white hallways until I reach a big room at the end. The Boss's room.

'Well done Hannah' he compliments me. 'You did fantastically'. This is high praise indeed.

'Thank you. I think he'll be pretty easy'.

'I agree. Take as long as you need. You need to do it when the time is right so he doesn't suspect a thing'.

'Ok, sure'.

'You're one of our best Hannah' he says, still staring at his computer. 'No one ever suspects anything with you'.

'I have his phone number. Would you like it?'

The Boss nods and I slide the napkin over to him. He types the number into the database.

'Ok, we're tracking him now' and then he slides it back. 'You're free to go'.

I nod and turn on my heel, walking away. I exit the building and I go back to my apartment. I walk slowly, wondering why I have to get Dan. I wonder what he's done for me to get involved. The annoying thing is though, that I only find out once the 'case' is over.

I get to my building and stand in front of a scanner, which scans my eyes. Security is tight where I live. Though it's not surprising considering what I do for a living.

You see, I'm a trained assassin. And that's my job. To kill certain people who've done wrongly according to the Organisation I work for. I'm highly trained in every single way possible. I can break someone's neck in one movement and make it look like an accident; hack into the government's web system within 5 minutes; throw a knife at someone 75m away and get it straight in their heart; shoot at a moving target from 500m away. I can do anything. And no one will ever suspect a thing.

My job is pretty simple. First, find the person the Boss wants to me eventually kill. Secondly, get close to them so they don't suspect anything but not so close that I begin to like them. Thirdly, kill them. Lastly, dispose of their body, usually through incineration. And then the whole process repeats itself.

I walk up to my apartment and unlock my door, switching on the lights. I move towards my specialised iMac and turn it on. I log onto FaceBook and already I have one new friend request – Dan Howell. I click 'accept' and enter his profile. I scroll through but I don't find anything worth knowing. I tap a few keys and instantaneously, I've hacked into his profile. I can see everything; messages, private emails, the lot. This should be more interesting and worthy of information.

I read through his private emails but nothing comes up, only chat about YouTube, friends, family etc. Nothing that I need to know at this present point in time. He has his Twitter and YouTube account linked so I click on his Twitter first, again, hacking into it. I decide to venture into his 'mentions' and I discover thousands of tweets, mainly from teenage girls. I smile to myself, they won't be too happy at the end of this whole 'case'. They won't be happy whatsoever. Next, I go onto his YouTube. I don't bother hacking in because there won't be any personal details on there. Instead, I watch his videos. I find myself laughing, he's pretty funny. I make a mental note to say that to him next time we meet.

My Mac pings, indicating I have a new email from FaceBook.

_Dan Howell_. I smile to myself.


	3. Don't get too attached

"_Hey" _he types.

"_Hi" _I reply. I sit at my desk, waiting for him.

"_Get home safely? I know how dangerous and mental some people are_."

I laugh out loud. Dan's worried about _me. _I'm an _assassin, I'm trained to kill. _Though, of course, he doesn't know that.

"_Yes I did thank you __ you?"_

"_Yep thanks. When do you wanna meet up again?" _ He types.

"_Whenever you're free_."

"_Tomorrow?" _Wow, this guy isn't wasting any time.

"_Sure. Same place, same time?"_

"_Sure. See you then x" _Dan says in his message.

I log off the chat and decide to go back into Dan's account and read through his mail. I change profiles and enter his full inbox. I start with his most recent ones. One is to his friend, Phil Lester, which was sent about 30 minutes ago:

"_Dude, met the most awesome girl today at the coffee shop. Name's Hannah Riley and she's a Solicitor. I'm hopefully seeing her again soon"._

Phil replied a few minutes later:

"_Glad to see you've met a nice girl Dan! It's about time you get a girlfriend, providing she likes you in that way! I'll stop by Waitrose and grab some milk seeing as we're out. Later"._

Are they flatmates? I presume so; why else would Phil buy milk for Dan? "She's a _Solicitor?" _If only they knew the truth. But of course, they never will.

I turn off my Mac and head to bed, setting an alarm on my phone for tomorrow at 10am.

The sunlight streams though my window, blinding me. I yawn and sit up, rubbing my eyes. I roll out of bed and head to the bathroom to take a shower. I wash my hair and leave it to dry, waiting to straighten it. I apply some foundation, bronzer and mascara and get dressed in black skinny jeans, a grey blouse and a black blazer, with 4 inch heeled-leather boots. Once my blonde hair is dry, I run over it with the straighteners lightly before braiding it into a fishtail plait, which hangs over my right shoulder.

I empty the contents of my hand bag out: pepper spray, a 6 inch long knife, pistol and some pills strong enough to knock someone out for 5 hours. And in replacement, I add some lipstick, a mirror, and purse and perfume so in case anyone looked inside, I would look like a normal woman. Not a trained killer.

I leave my house and walk to the coffee shop, surprised that Dan's already there. I walk towards him.

'Hey' I say, dropping into the opposite seat.

'Hello Hannah. Coffee?'

'Yep' I reach into my bag to retrieve my purse but Dan stops me.

'I'll pay'.

'No. It's fine, I don't mind paying.

'No, I insist. It's on me' he smiles, showing dimples.

'If you're sure…?'

'Positive' he winks before heading up to the counter. He returns a few minutes later, carrying a tall cup.

'Latte for you madame' he says cheesily.

I roll my eyes before smiling. 'Thank you Mr Howell'.

'So, tell me a bit about yourself' he says to me.

'Alright' I agree. 'Well, I'm 21, I'm from Cambridge orgininally where I did my degree but I moved to London a few months ago. I like reading, music and internetting. You?'

'I'm also 21 and I originally come from Reading, but I moved too Manchester to do a Law degree but I dropped out a few months ago because YouTube became my full time job. I also like reading, music and internetting. Name some bands you like then. Let's see if our taste differentiates or not'.

'Muse, Radiohead, Panic! At The Disco, My Chemical Romance, All Time Low, Sleeping With Sirens, Pierce the Veil… The list never ends'.

'Ok, snap on Muse, Radiohead, Panic!, My Chemical Romance. Don't mind All Time Low but haven't heard any songs from Sleeping with Sirens or Pierce the Veil. Name some books you like then'.

'To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher In The Rye, Angels and Demons and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo are some of my favourites'.

Dan grins. 'Same. Seems like we're pretty similar'.

'I guess so' I reply, taking a sip of my Latte. 'Oh yeah, I watched some of your YouTube videos last night'.

As I mention this, Dan looks anxious. 'How did you find my channel? And more importantly, what did you think?'

'Oh I have my ways' I wink. 'And I really enjoyed them, you're really funny and it seems as if you have a loyal fan base'.

Dan's face lights up; his grin widening. 'You think so?'

'I do' I say, nodding my head.

'Well, thank you' he says, blushing slightly.

'You're welcome' I say automatically.

My phone rings and I notice it's the Boss calling. 'Sorry but I have to take this' I say to Dan before walking away.

'Hello?'

'Hello Hannah. Just to let you know, I won't be at the HQ as I'm dealing with another case; I'm helping Mr Jacobson as his case is particularly difficult. And please don't get too emotionally attached to Mr Howell, you know what has to happen Hannah'.

'Ok, yep, sure. Speak soon' I end the call and walk back to Dan.

'Sorry about that' I say, sliding into my seat.

'Boyfriend?' he says, his voice catching ever so slightly.

'Nope. No boyfriend. Just the Boss regarding work' though I don't offer any more information.

'Single lady, huh?' he asks me.

'Sure am'.

'Well, would it be ok if I took you out on a date, say, tomorrow evening?'

I find myself agreeing. 'Sure'.

Oops, getting attached to the person I'm meant to eventually kill isn't part of my job.


	4. Sorry

Dan smiles. 'Great! So tomorrow evening, say around 7ish?'

'That'd be great'.

'I'll pick you up?'

I stiffen. I can't let him come to my apartment complex. 'No no, it's fine. I'll make my own way there. It's fine, really' I say quickly.

Dan looks doubtful. 'Sure?'

'Yeah, positive. I have things to do beforehand' I reply, hoping he'll buy it.

'Okay then. So, what's your degree in?'

_Shit. _'Um...' _Think Hannah, think! _'Phycology'.

'Oh awesome! Cambridge, huh?'

'Yeah'. Well, I do have a degree from Cambridge. Just not in Biology. Time to change the subject now.

Luckily, my phone rings for the second time. The Boss. I pick it up, motioning to Dan to apologise.

'Hello?'

'Hello Hannah. Was just wondering if you're free to help us with a client? He's a bit tricky so we could do with your help'.

'Sure. I'll be right there. Where is he right now?'

'He's in Dragon Road, near the bank'.

'Ok, gotcha. I'll be right there' and I end the call.

'Sorry about that' I say to Dan. 'But something's come up at work and I really need to leave'.

'Hey, no worries. But I'll see you at 7 tomorrow, at Prezzo's?'

'Sure, yeah, ok. See you then!' I call over my shoulder as I rush out of the coffee shop.

I head back to my apartment, meaning to change the contents of my handbag. I do the changeover quickly before heading out again.

I see the 'client' by the bank, the Boss nearby along with Mr Green, a 'work' colleague. I walk over to the 'client' and he looks at me, taking me in. He smiles and walks over to me, greeting me halfway.

'Hellooo' he purrs. 'What do we have here, eh?'

I wink at him before twisting his arm and kneeing him in the crotch area. He falls to the ground and I straddle him, viciously twisting his wrists to keep him in place. His face is contorted in pain. I grin at him before pressing my hand on his windpipe, cutting off his air supply. He goes red and he makes a guttural sound and attempts to move but I've got him in such a position he can barely lift his hand.

'Sorry' I whisper before he makes one last sound before breathing his last breath.

I check his pulse. Nothing. My work here is done.

The Boss walks over to me.

'Brilliant Hannah. Just brilliant. We couldn't get near him'.

'Why was he on the list?' I ask.

'He was working for the KaP' the Boss says, referring to the other assassin organisation on the other side of town. The KaP and the organisation I work for, the PoM, are enemies. 'And he was out to kill Mr Green. So of course, we had to get him before he got us'. Oh yeah, and more often than not, a member of the KaP would often try to kill a member from the PoM or vice versa.

'Oh okay then. I'd better get going' I say.

'That's fine Hannah. Good job, keep up the good work okay?'

'Sure thing' I say to the Boss before leaving him and Mr Green to dispose of the corpse.

I walk away thinking about my upcoming date. Then it hits me. I'm going to have to kill Dan just like I did with that man and countless other people. I'm going to be the reason why he doesn't make YouTube videos anymore. I'm going to be the reason why hundreds and thousands of fans are going to be distraught. But it's my _job. _I _have _to do what the Boss tells me to do. And there must be a pretty good reason he's on the list.

When I get home, I hack into Dan's emails again, this time, getting all of his personal details. Like his bank details for example. I log into his bank account and look at what he's been buying. I smirk as I take in his expenditure. _Clothes and electrical shit_. My eyes widen as I read down the list. He sure spends a lot on clothes. Although he does have a good monthly income so I guess he can buy whatever he likes.

I get bored of reading his bank details so I log into his Tumblr account. I'm greeted by over 10,000 messages. Shit. I look through some of them, most of them, ok, all of them from fangirls. Some are nice and polite, complimenting him on his videos; some are expressing their dying love for him and others are just fucking creepy and sexual. Although I do find the creepy/sexual ones absolutely hilarious to read.

I look at my watch. It's 11pm already. Shit, where did the time go? I turn off my Mac and jump into bed, dropping off into a dreamless sleep.

I wake up late the next morning, surprised to see it's 4:30pm already. I can sleep for England. Woops. It doesn't matter though; I'm not doing anything until 7pm anyway. Which is when I'm seeing Dan. I roll out of bed and walk to the kitchen, making myself a salad for lunch. Screw breakfast. I eat it slowly, thinking about later on tonight. I'm actually quite excited.

I jump into the shower next and wash my hair again before shaving and doing all the other shower related things you do in the shower. I get out and walk to my wardrobe, wondering what to wear. I ponder for about 30 minutes before finally deciding on a tight, black dress that was about mid-thigh length. I threw it on before adding some eyeliner, mascara and red lipstick. This whole getting ready thing takes me around 2 hours, which is about triple the length of time it normally takes me to get ready.

I decide to leave my hair to dry to its natural waves and I change the contents of my handbag. I take out the pistol and the knife and in exchange I add a leather purse, my red lipstick, a mirror, phone and another, smaller knife, concealed in a perfume bottle.

I grab a bottle of pills, strong enough to kill someone, and drop them into my bag. They're labelled 'painkillers' anyway. Well, in one way, they _are_ painkillers. Except they take away the pain forever. Along with your life.

I'm ready.


	5. I can change that

'Hello Miss, what's the name?' the waiter asks me as soon as I step through the doors.

_Um. _'Howell?' I guess.

'Right this way' the male waiter begins weaving through the tables until he reaches a small table in an alcove, where Dan is sitting.

'Thanks' I smile at the waiter before he leaves. 'Hey' I say to Dan.

'Hello yourself' he stands up and kisses me on the check before removing my jacket from me and placing it on the back of my chair. He then moves the seat back for me to sit down and then sits in his own seat opposite. He certainly knows the moves to impress a woman.

'How are you then Hannah?' he asks me. 'Did you finish off your work?' he says, referring to yesterday when I had to cut our coffee 'date' short.

'I'm good thanks, you? And yes I did'. I literally _did _finish off the work.

'I'm great thanks. That's good, what did you have to do?'

_Shit. _'Just finish off a client's paperwork' I say vaguely, hoping he'll drop it. Luckily, he does. 'So, um, I watched some more of your YouTube videos' I say.

'Did you now? Have I won you over with my wit and good looks?' he winks at me.

I raise an eyebrow back. 'Hmmm, not quite yet'.

'I guess I'll have to work on that' he replies, smirking.

The waiter comes back and poises his hand over his notebook, ready to take our orders. I order Spaghetti Bolognaise while Dan orders an American pizza.

'I found your Tumblr account too' I say to Dan, whose face turns to panic.

'Oh shit' he says while I laugh. 'Oh god, what did you see?'

'Well, you like to reblog pictures of dogs, don't you?' I smirk at him while he pretends to hide his face in shame.

'Do you have a Tumblr account?' he asks me. I shake my head. 'Then don't diss it until you get one, okay?'

'Deal' I grin at him. 'It also seems that you have some pretty, um, dedicated fans. Don't you think?'

'Ha ha yes, I do. But they're the best kind of fans, they always make me laugh, y'know?'

'Yeah, I know what you mean' I reply, feeling kinda bad that I'll have to eventually kill their idol.

Our food comes and we eat it, talking nonstop until we get asked to leave. I didn't realise it had gotten so late. We walk out to the car park, it's pretty cold by now. I start to shiver.

'Here' Dan says, shrugging off his jacket and holding it out to me.

'No, I'm not cold' I say, my teeth chattering.

Dan laughs. 'Hannah, here, take it'.

'No no no, you'll get cold. I'm warm anyway' I reply.

'Hmm, yes, you're very warm' he says, touching my ice cold hand. 'Come on Hannah, just take it'.

'Fine' I say, pulling it on. It swamps me. 'Thank you but you're gonna get cold?'

'It's better than you being cold' he says smoothly. 'Feel free to keep me warm' he smirks at me.

'Well, I can't let you freeze, can I?' I say before wrapping one arm around his waist. He pulls me closer and puts his arm around my shoulder.

We walk on in silence until we reach my car.

'Hey, thanks for tonight. I had a really great time' I say, turning to face Dan, his face illuminated by the moonlight.

'So did I, it was fun' he smiles at me happily.

'How are you getting home?' I ask him, completely changing the subject.

'Well, I got a bus here but I don't think they run at this time of night'.

'I'll take you home' I offer. 'It's fine, honestly. I can't leave you to walk home'.

'You sure?' Dan looks doubtful.

'Yeah, totally' I reply.

'Well, thank you' he looks into my eyes and moves closer until our bodies are touching. He leans down and I reach up until our lips meet gently. We kiss for a few seconds, our mouths moving in sync before we finally pull apart.

'Have I won you over now?' He grins at me, his hands on my waist.

'Maybe' I reply. 'You still have a bit more to go though'.

'Oh don't worry, he whispers into my hair. 'I can change that'.


	6. You have to do it now

I grab my keys out of my bag and unlock my car.

'Jump in' I say to Dan who looks in awe of my car. I slide into the leather seat and slot the keys into the ignition slot and turn on the engine.

'Nice car' he says to me. 'What model is it?'

'Aston Martin DB9' I answer, focusing on the twisty roads. 'Wait, where am I going?'

'Turn left, then the 3 exit at the roundabout, then right, the left again then we're there' he replies. I follow his instructions and before we know it, we're sitting in my car outside his apartment complex.

'Here we go' I say to Dan, who's now looking at me.

'Wanna come inside? Have a cup of coffee or something? Watch a movie?'

'Sure' I agree and we both exit the car and walk up to his apartment. He knocks on the door.

'Forgot my keys' he explains. 'Phil should be in…'

A tall man opens the door, with black hair and blue eyes. 'Hey Dan, you're back late!' Then he notices me and looks at Dan, figuring it out. 'And you're…?'

'I'm Hannah' I say, shaking his hand.

'Hey Hannah. Come on in' he says, opening the door wider. Dan motions for me to go in first and I have to smile. He's such a gentleman.

We walk inside to the living room and sit down on the leather sofa, Dan flicking through DVDs.

'Hey guys, I'm going to bed now so don't make too much noise please' Phil says to Dan and I. We both nod and say goodnight before he leaves.

'Insidious?' Dan holds up the DVD.

'Sure'.

'Or do you want something less scary?' he teases me.

I throw a cushion at him. 'I'm not a pussy!'

He catches at and places the DVD in the DVD player and comes back and sits down next to me, placing the cushion beside him.

'Lights off?'

'I'm fine with that as long as you're not afraid of the dark' I mock him.

'Oh, I'm not afraid of the dark Hannah' he says, switching off the light. The TV glowing in the darkness and coming back beside me. He pulls me closer to him and gently rests his arm on my shoulders, my head now on his chest. He smells good, nice and masculine.

We watch the film in silence, Dan occasionally jumping in certain parts. I laugh at him, my head still on his chest. Eventually, the film comes to an end and Dan gets up to turn the lights back on.

'Did someone get scared watching it?' I tease him, ruffling his dark hair.

'Of course not' he snorts. 'You kept on jumping which made me jump'.

'Sure, Dan, sure' I grin at him which he returns.

'Would you like a drink?' he asks me.

'Yeah thanks, what have you got?'

'Coke, Fanta, tea, coffee…' he trails off.

'Can I have a Coke please?' I ask.

'Maybe' he says, his fingers tracing my spine, his cheek against mine. I shiver at his touch. He leans back and looks at me, his eyes darker than ever. I move closer and gently kiss him, my hands tangled in his brown hair.

'Does that change your mind?' I whisper into his ear.

'One more' he murmurs back.

I move closer again and wrap my legs around his body, kissing him a bit harder this time. Our lips move in sync for a few minutes before I finally move off of him.

'Coke, yeah?' he asks me, standing up.

'Yeah please' I reply.

Dan goes into the kitchen and pours two glasses of coke before bringing them back out. He places both on a small table.

'Help yourself. I'm just going to go to the toilet. Be right back' he says before disappearing off.

I grab my bag and pull out the deadly pills. I stare at the packet and Dan's drink.

_Goddammit Hannah. Now you decide to like him. You had to fall for someone who you knew you would have to eventually kill, didn't you? Still, better now than later when I fall for him even more. _

I pop out two pills into my hand, even though one should be strong enough, I decide to use two just to be on the safe side.

I grab Dan's drink and stare at the dark liquid, then at the little white pills in my palm

_Do it now Hannah, before you fall in love with him or something. You have to do it Hannah, it's your job. Dan's obviously done something pretty bad to be put on the list. You know the consequences if you don't kill someone. _

I hear the toilet flushing. If I'm going to do it, I have to do it now.

I lift my hand and let the white pills fall into Dan's drink.


	7. I'm not falling in love with him

I stare at the dark liquid, the white pills now disintegrated in them. A wave of guilt overcomes me.

_What have I done?_

Then I realise. I _don't _want to kill Dan. Even though I'll eventually have to, I don't want to do it right now; I want to spend more time with him. Oh shit. I'm beginning to fall for him. Oh god, this _isn't _good.

I hear the tap begin to run. I jump to my feet and grab Dan's drink and run to the kitchen sink and pour to coke and pills down the plug hole. I rinse the glass a few times so there's no residue of the pills left over. I hear the toilet door unlock. Shit shit shit. I hear footsteps.

'Everything okay Hannah?' Dan asks me.

_Keep calm Hannah, keep calm._

'Yeah, everything's fine. I just finished my drink' I reply.

'That was quick' he frowns at me.

I force a laugh. 'I get really thirsty a lot of the time'.

'Do you want another one?'

'I'm good but thank you. I should really get going now' I garble.

'Oh, do you have to? Can't you stay?'

'Well…' I hesitate.

Dan crosses the kitchen and stands in front of me. His brown eyes wide and pleading. 'Please? For me?' He wraps his arms around me and holds me tight; his hands tracing circles on my back.

'Fine' I grumble. 'I'll stay'.

Dan looks down at me grinning. 'Good' he says gently before touching his lips against mine.

'Where shall I sleep?' I ask him after I break the kiss. 'Sofa?'

'You don't have to sleep there. I'll sleep on the sofa. You can have my bed'.

'No, I don't mind being on the couch. It's your bed after all'.

'How about we share the bed' he murmurs into my ear, making me shiver.

'That's a possibility' I whisper back. 'No funny business though'.

'Oh, I wouldn't dream of it' he winks at me. 'One game of Mario Kart before we go to bed?'

'You're on Dan. Prepare to lose' I tease him as we grab the controllers.

'This may get violent' he laughs. 'I'm not a calm gamer'.

'Nor am I. This will be interesting' I say back.

We load up the game and the bickering begins before we even start.

'SHOTGUN DRYBONES' I scream.

'Too late' Dan says, clicking on Dry Bones as his character.

'Screw you' I retort, picking Yoshi instead. 'Though shouldn't you have picked Peach or Daisy? Y'know, the pussy ones?'

'I'm gonna remember that' he smirks at me before the game starts.

'COME ON YOSHI' I screech. 'FUCKING HURRY UP'

'FUCK SAKE DRY BONES' Dan also yells as I over take him.

'FUCK YOU DAN!' I shout at him as Yoshi skids on a banana that Dan placed on the track. I decide that now is the time to play dirty.

Just as we come to the last corner before the game ends, I drop my controller and place my hands over Dan's eyes, blinding him.

'HANNAH!' He yells at me as I sit on him so all he can see is my back as I pick up my controller again. By now, Dan's too far behind to catch me up so I zoom through the finish line.

'I WIN I WIN!' I chant in Dan's face. 'Told you you'd lose'.

'You cheated!' He protests.

'No I didn't. I just used my resources to my advantage' I grin at him. 'That's not cheating'.

Dan gets up and turns the TV off before turning back to me.

'You made me lose now you're going to have to pay' he mutters into my ear.

'Oh yeah? Well, you're going to have to catch me first' I say before taking off.

I run around the coffee table before jumping over the sofa and running to Dan's bedroom. I just reach his bed before he tackles me.

'Caught you' he murmurs as I lay underneath him laughing. 'Hmm, what shall I make you do?'

I raise an eyebrow at him. 'Anything you want'.

'I might have to take you up on that' he replies, biting his lip.

I place my hands on his cheeks and kiss him gently before deepening the kiss. His grip tightens around my waist as one hand stokes my jawline. I pull him closer to me, my hands now in his dark hair. His lips leave mine and he begins to plant gently kisses down my neck and along my collarbone before returning to my lips. We roll over so now I'm on top and Dan's underneath me. I nibble his lip gently as he pulls me even closer, like he never wants to let me go. I leave his lips and kiss softly along his jaw before dropping a kiss on his nose. I gently roll off him and lay down beside him, head on his chest.

'Well…' Dan chuckles before kissing the top of my head. I laugh with him, my arm flung over his body.

'Yeah' I smirk at him. 'Do you have anything that you can lend me to sleep in?'

'Sure' he replies, getting up to look in his wardrobe. He grabs a pair of black sweatpants and a grey t-shirt. 'Here' he throws them to me.

'Thanks' I say, clutching them to my chest. 'Where can I…?'

'In the bathroom' he says pointing to a door I hadn't noticed.

I jump up and enter the white bathroom, locking the door behind me. I take off my clothes and fold them into a neat pile before putting on Dan's. The sweatpants trail on the floor and nearly fall off my waist as I walk. I exit the bathroom, holding the sweatpants in place so they don't fall down.

Dan's already in bed and he laughs at me as I shuffle in.

'Bit big huh?'

'Slightly' I respond before leaping into bed, pulling the blue duvet over me. I shift towards him, my hands on his bare chest. _Please don't tell me he's naked _I beg.

'Sweet dreams Hannah' he replies before kissing me gently on the lips, his arms wrapped around me.

'Night' I murmur, my head buried in his chest.

_I'll kill him later, once the time is right _I vow to myself. _I'm just getting to know him. I will kill him, I will. It won't be hard; I've killed over 30 people so another one won't be difficult. It'll be easy. I'm not falling in love with him. I'm not. I'm not. _But I know I'm lying to myself, and that's what's scaring me the most.


	8. Barriers you can never cross

I wake up in the morning, Dan's arms still around my waist and I have to smile. I lie there, thinking about everything I'm going to have to eventually do.

'Morning' Dan says, interrupting my thoughts.

'Morning' I reply, yawning. 'Sleep well?'

'Of course' he laughs softly. 'Breakfast?'

'Yes please, what have you got?' I ask.

'Umm…Cereal, toast, coffee, tea, umm…'

'I think I'll go for just coffee' I say, getting out of bed.

'No no no' Dan pushes me back down against the bed. 'Stay there, I'll get it for you'.

'Dan, it's fine' I reply but he's insistent.

I snuggle back under his duvet, cocooning myself in it, back with my thoughts again. Why did it have to be Dan that I have to kill? Why did I get close to him? I'm only making it harder for myself.

I listen to the peaceful sound of the rain hitting the roof and I watch the raindrops run gently down the windows; one by one, some running into one another; pushing them further and further down until they fall into the gutter. Then I realise, the raindrops on the window represents the low points in your life. You will get hit by something hard and you begin to fall, then something else comes along and knocks you down even further, and then something else, and then something else until there's nothing left for you. You're at the bottom. But once you're at the bottom; it means that there's nothing bad left to happen so things can only start to get better.

'Here you go' Dan enters the room once more and places the tray on my lap.

I sit back up, trying not to slosh the coffee all over the duvet. 'Thank you' I smile at him. 'That was really sweet of you'.

Dan squirms. 'It was nothing' he says, his eyes downcast.

'You getting back in then? I'm getting cold all by myself' I say to him.

Dan laughs and gets back in, moving closer to me. He places his hands on my stomach and starts tickling.

'No Dan. Get off. I won't be responsible for injuries' I manage to spit out in between giggles. 'I'm serious; I will knee you in the balls'.

'No you won't' he replies, grinning playfully.

'Oh yes I will and I won't be held responsible. So get off or your balls get it'.

'Ok, I give in' Dan holds his hands up in mock surrender.

I inch closer to him and wrap my arms around him, breathing in his scent. He kisses my forehead before placing his chin on the top of my head.

'You're a good hugger' I say to him.

Dan laughs. 'Thank you. I've had that quite a lot actually'.

'Oooh, get you!' I say in a high pitched voice.

'From my fans' he says quickly. 'Not that I've done this with my fans… Oh, you know what I mean'.

Now it's my turn to laugh at him. 'Don't worry; I knew what you were on about'.

'I know it's early days, but I really like you Hannah' he murmurs into my ear.

'I really like you too Dan' I reply.

_Shit. I'm not meant to like him. But I 'spose it's too late now, huh?_

'Well, that's a good start' he replies before kissing me softly.

I lay down next to Dan, his arms around my waist, my head in the crook of his neck. There was something intimate, not sexual, but special about this moment. It was almost as if we'd gotten closer as people but grown at the same time. I liked it here with Dan, under his duvet together, listening to the rain, like nothing could go wrong. But all I could think about was that no matter how close we are with someone, there are some things that you can never tell them, barriers you can never cross. Things we can't share with anyone because they mean so much to us.

And maybe it's those things that really define who we are.


	9. I pull the trigger

My phone buzzes, indicating a new message. I look over at Dan, who is sleeping peacefully. I reach over, past the mug of cold coffee that I didn't drink, and pick up my phone. The Boss.

"Hannah, I need you. I have two clients that need finishing off so could you please meet me in Green Road? I'll be waiting".

I wriggle out of Dan's grasp and grab yesterday's clothes and head to the bathroom to change. I fold Dan's clothes and leave them in a pile on his bed. I don't have time to say a formal goodbye. I slip out of his apartment and catch a cab to Green Road, wondering who awaits me.

'Thanks for coming so quickly Hannah' the Boss greats me as I quickly walk towards him. 'Mr Kendall is underground and he needs to be killed as quickly as possible. Could you do that please then meet me back here?'

'Sure thing. What shall I use?' I ask.

The Boss hands me a small gun and I tuck it into the waistband of my jeans after I check it's loaded. It is.

'Just leave him there. I'll arrange someone to pick up and dispose of the body'.

I walk towards the hidden doorway which leads to the tunnels underground. It's pitch black and I don't even have a torch. I creep down the tunnels, my heels clicking on the stone floor. I go further and further down. I reach into my waistband and pick out the gun.

After about 10 minutes of walking, I come to a large, candle-lit opening. I see Mr Kendall sitting on a pile of rocks, his back to me.

I walk quietly closer, the gun now held out in front of me, my finger on the trigger. I carry on walking until I'm about 10ft away from him. I measure up, the gun pointing to his back.

'Hello' I say and Mr Kendall slowly turns around.

He sees the gun and freezes slightly before leaping up.

I pull the trigger.

Mr Kendall falls to the ground. I got him right in the heart. A perfect, clean shot.

I walk over to the crumpled body on the cold floor and check for a pulse. Nothing.

I turn around and walk back to meet the Boss.

'Done' I say to the Boss. 'Who's next?'

'Ms Leftman is next Hannah. She's by the cinema, in the alleyway. She's alone'.

'Okay, see you soon' I turn away and head towards the cinema alleyway.

I find Ms Leftman standing against a wall, having a cigarette. She looks me up and down as I walk towards her.

'Mind if I have one?' I say, gesturing to the cigarettes.

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a crumpled box and a blue lighter. She picks one out with pink painted fingernails and hands it to me.

'Thanks' I say, though I have no intention of smoking it. I put it in my mouth and pretend to light it, seizing her up while I do so. She turns her back on me ever so slightly but it's enough for me to grab her and put her into a headlock. She kicks out at me while I twist her arm into a painful position. I catch her leg with my foot and push her to the ground, her head smashing against the concrete. Her face twists with fury as she fights back. I press my hand against her throat while I pull out my gun and place it against her temple. She suddenly stops fighting, as if I might take pity on her and let her live. No chance. And for the second time today, I pull the trigger.

I put the gun away and wipe my hands on my trousers and walk away without a second glance.

"Done" I text the Boss.

"Fantastic Hannah. You can go home now" he replies.

I head back to my apartment and let myself in. My answerphone is beeping like crazy, meaning I have a lot of voicemails. I check my phone; again, I have a load of voicemails on there too. Jesus Christ.

'Hannah? Where did you go?' Dan.

'Hannah? Where are you?' Dan again.

'Where are you Hannah? Come back'.

'Hannah. I'm getting slightly worried now. Call me as soon as you get this message'.

'Han, it's been 2 hours now. Where are you? Please call me'.

'Has something happened Han? Come back, please'.

'Hannah. Call me as soon as you can. Please'.

All of my voicemails on my mobile and house phone are from Dan. Oops, guess I should have left a note. I delete them one by one before ringing him back.

'Hannah?' he picks up instantly.

'Hey Dan' I reply. 'Sorry, something important came up at work and I had to leave quickly. I didn't have time to leave a note and I didn't want to wake you'.

Dan breathes a sigh of relief. 'Thank God you're okay Hannah'.

'Yeah, I'm totally fine. I'm at home right now'.

'Well, next time you have to leave in a hurry. Can you at least send me a text when you have a spare minute so I'm not left worrying?'

I roll my eyes. Have a spare minute. Ha. 'Yeah, sure, fine, whatever. Listen, I'm really sorry but I've gotta go. Speak soon' I hang up the phone.

I walk over to my Mac and log into Dan's FaceBook account again. He has 1 new message. It's from a guy called PJ.

"Hey Dan (and Phil if you see this),

I'm really sorry to tell you this but Chris (Kendall) has died. Someone found his body underground in a tunnel and identified him. They said he died of natural causes. The fans are in shock. Speak soon.

PJ".

Whoa. Shit.

Chris Kendall. Kendall.

Mr Kendall.

The guy I killed?

It must be. I shot him underground. In a tunnel.

I type in Chris Kendall into the FaceBook search and click on the 'page' one. A picture of him comes up. Yep, it was him. I scroll through the posts written by others. Some have already posted 'RIP Chris' messages. How the fuck did they find out so quickly?

I go back onto PJ's message and see that Dan has replied to him.

"What the…Shit…Really? I'm so sorry to hear that. It's scary, y'know? It could happen to any of us. It could happen to you. It could happen to Phil. It could happen to me. We just don't know what's around the corner. Sorry again".

I smile wryly to myself at the irony in Dan's reply. _"It could happen to any of us… It could happen to me". _

Dan's right. We just don't know what's around the corner.


	10. I can't afford to miss

I lean back in my chair and think to myself. Little does Dan know, it _will _happen to him. And soon.

My phone beeps. It's a message from the Boss.

"Hannah, have you killed Mr Howell yet?"

I reply: "no, not yet".

His reply comes back instantly. "Well, you need to hurry up Hannah. We can't wait forever. And if you decide you can't kill him, then we'll get someone else to. But they'll kill him slowly and painfully. You don't want that, do you?"

I freeze. It's either I kill Dan or someone else tortures him until he dies. Oh Jesus fucking Christ. I shakily send a message back: "no".

I grab my keys and drive to Dan's apartment and knock nervously on his door. He opens it about 10 seconds later.

'Hannah' he seems surprised. 'Hey'.

I fidget. 'Hey Dan'. I can't look him in the eye. I feel bad for making him worry about me then hanging up on him.

He opens the door a bit wider. 'Wanna come in?'

'Sure. Thanks' I walk in and wait for him to close the door behind me. We walk to the living room in silence and sit on the sofa, still in silence.

'Hey, um' I start. 'Sorry I hung up on you. I feel really bad. I was just annoyed at myself. Um, yeah, sorry' I mumble, not looking at him.

'Han' he says softly, tilting my chin up so I look at him. 'It's alright. You're busy with work, I get that. It's okay. You don't have to apologise. Come here' he opens his arms and folds me into a hug.

'I'm really sorry. I'm just being an ass today'.

'Han, quit apologising. I said it's fine' he laughs. 'Why did you come over?'

'To apologise' I say into his t-shirt.

'Well, you shouldn't have' he replies, kissing the top of my head. 'But now you've done what you wanted to do, what would you like to do now?'

'Anything' I reply. 'As long as I'm with you'.

Dan rolls his eyes jokingly. 'I know I'm irresistible Hannah'.

'If I keep complimenting you, your head won't be able to fit through the door' I laugh, hitting him on the arm playfully.

'We could make a cake?' Dan suggests, his eyes bright.

'Sounds like a plan' I answer. 'Let's get cracking'.

We run into the kitchen and start rummaging through the cupboards looking for suitable ingredients.

'I've got butter' I yell.

'I've got flour, sugar and eggs' he replies.

We grab all the necessary ingredients and pile them on the counter and stare at them.

'What cake are we making?' I ask him.

'Let's make a Delia Smith one!' he laughs.

'I knew it' I mutter. 'It's always Delia'.

We pull up a recipe and start concocting the cake.

'Dan!' I shout as he pours in twice the amount of sugar we need.

'What?' he replies innocently.

'Too. Much. Sugar'.

'Oops. Too late now' he winks at me.

'HANNAH!' Dan screams while I'm sieving the flour. 'LOOK!'

'At what?' I look at the floor, now white. 'Oh'. I place my hands in the flour and walk towards Dan, placing my hands on his face and smearing flour all over it. 'Sorry' I giggle.

'That's it' he walks menacingly towards me and I shrink back against the counter, choking on my giggles. He places his hands on my waist and lifts me up so I'm sitting on the granite worktop. I wrap my legs around him and smile at him before kissing him. I lean backwards and I hear a crash.

'Oh shit' I say, breaking off the kiss and looking behind me. The cake mixture was now all over the counter and on the floor. 'We've lost our cake'.

'Oh well. Screw the cake' he mutters before pulling me back into the kiss.

'Dan, where's the-' I hear another voice say.

Dan and I quickly pull apart and look at Phil, who's standing awkwardly in the doorway. I try not to laugh.

'Hey Phil, we were just making a cake' Dan's the first one to laugh.

'Um, okay, whatever you say Dan' Phil smiles. 'But I was wondering where the spare set of keys. I've lost mine'.

'In the pot behind the plant in the hallway' Dan replies.

'Ok, thanks. I'm off out now. I'll be back late' Phil says before disappearing. We hear the door shut before we carry on.

'Shall we move over to the sofa?' Dan mutters.

'Sure. I'm just gonna go to the toilet though' I say, hopping off the counter.

I lock the bathroom door and place my forehead against the mirror, staring at my reflection.

I'm going to have to do it now. I don't want Dan to suffer. I have to. It's the only way.

I pull the gun out of the waistband of my jeans and check the amount of bullets it had left. One left. I can't afford to miss. I only have one chance. One. I slip it up the sleeve of my jumper, so I can grab it quickly when I need to.

My heart is pounding. My hands are clammy with sweat.

I unlock the bathroom door and walk back to the living room, where Dan's sitting on the sofa, his back to me.

I walk silently over to him, the gun now in my right hand.

My heart is racing. I don't dare to breathe.

I slowly lift the gun up to the back of Dan's head so it's only a few centimetres away.

My hands are shaking.

My finger is on the trigger.

I lift up my other arm to keep the gun steady, so I don't miss.

I take a deep breath.


	11. My job is to kill you

I exhale and Dan jumps before turning around.

He sees the gun, centimetres from his face and screams before leaping back.

I drop my hands, my fingers still tight around the gun. I'm shaking.

'What the…' he whispers, his eyes wide.

'Dan. We need to talk' I say.

'Okay Han. Just put the gun down' he replies, rather calmly.

I drop the gun to the floor and Dan walks slowly towards me. I feel my legs begin to buckle and I drop to the floor. I feel Dan's arms around me as he lifts me up and sits me on the couch, covering me with a blanket.

'Okay Hannah. What's going on?' he asks me.

Where the fuck do I start?

'Just start from the beginning' he tells me, as if he read my mind.

'Okay' I say. 'Okay. I, um. I lied to you. I'm not a solicitor' I say.

'Then what are you?' he asks.

'I'm a trained assassin' I state and his mouth drops open. 'I work for an organisation called the PoM and we all get assigned to 'clients', i.e. people we're meant to kill. And, well, I got assigned to you. I'm meant to kill you'.

Dan's face pales but he doesn't utter a word.

'I have no idea why I'm meant to be killing you but I have to do what my Boss tells me to. Otherwise I get killed. And the Boss told me that if I don't kill you, he'll get someone to torture you until you die. And, um, I don't want that to happen to you' I rush before carrying on. 'But once I got to know you, I realised that I didn't want to kill you, because I'm really falling for you Dan. I tried to kill you once before, I slipped some pills into your drink but I couldn't go ahead with it. I poured the drink out because I didn't want you to die. I still don't want you to die'.

Dan leans forward and wipes my cheek. Only then did I realise I was crying.

'I'm sorry' I sob. 'I'm so sorry'.

We sit on the sofa in silence before Dan speaks.

'Okay Hannah. I've got something to tell you too'.

I hold my breath, wondering what Dan's about to drop on me.

'I work for the KaP' he says. 'And my job is to kill you'.


	12. Tomorrow's a new day

My head begins to spin. What the…

'Remember that time I made you coffee and bought it to you while you were in bed?' he says. 'I added some pills in it too. Pills that would kill you. But then you didn't drink it because you left. And I was so glad that you did. I'm really falling for you too Hannah' he says, looking into my eyes.

'Okay. Right' I start. 'So my job is to kill you and your job is to kill me?'

Dan nods. 'Looks like it. Yeah'.

'What do we do' I mutter, my head in my hands. 'What do we do'.

'I don't know Han' Dan shuffles closer to me and places an arm around my shoulders. 'I really don't know'.

I lean back into him and sigh.

'Hey' Dan says gently, making me look at him. 'At least we have each other'.

There's something nice about those two little words, 'each other'. Knowing you're not alone is comforting; knowing you have someone by you side, no matter what. Someone there to guide you; someone to keep you strong. Someone who won't give up on you.

'Yeah. I guess we do' I mumble back into his chest.

'How about we talk about the whole thing tomorrow and get some sleep now? It's been a long day' Dan suggests.

'Sounds good' I reply. I shakily get to my feet and entwine my fingers with Dan's. We walk to his bedroom in silence and get under the covers. Arms wrapped around each other.

'Tomorrow's a new day Han. The worst will be over by then' he whispers into my ear. 'We'll find a way. I promise you'.

He kisses me softly then and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

'Get some sleep beautiful' he murmurs.

'Night Dan'.

'Goodnight gorgeous' he replies into my hair.

I think about his words, "tomorrow's a new day". He's right. Every day is different. Every single day brings about change. Things never stay the same. They never have and they never will. But that's how it should be. Change for a better day, change for a better future.

I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.


	13. Sequel!

_Hello,_

_Due to popular demand, I've started the sequel to Take It To The Grave and it's called 'Wanted'. So if you're interested in seeing how everything will turn out, then go and give it a read!_

_Don't forget to follow it if you like and it review! _

_-K _


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